Louis-Alexandre Berthier
Versailles, France | death= Bamberg, Bavaria | placeofburial_label = | death_place = Bamberg, Bavaria | placeofburial = | nickname = | allegiance = Kingdom of France, Kingdom of France (1791-1792), French First Republic, First French Empire, Bourbon Restoration | branch = | serviceyears = 1764-1815 | rank = General of Division | unit = | commands = | battles = American Revolutionary War, French Revolutionary Wars, Napoleonic Wars | awards = Marshal of France, Légion d'honneur (Grand Cross), Order of Saint Louis (Commander), Name inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, Prince of Neuchâtel and Wagram, Duke of Valangin, Constable of France | relations = Jean Baptiste Berthier (father), César Berthier (brother), Victor Léopold Berthier (brother), Joseph-Alexandre Berthier (brother), Napoléon Alexandre Berthier (son) | laterwork = Peer of France, Minister of Defence }} Louis Alexandre Berthier, 1st Prince de Wagram, 1st Duc de Valangin, 1st Sovereign Prince of Neuchâtel (20 February 1753 – 1 June 1815), was a Marshal of France, Vice-Constable of France beginning in 1808, and Chief of Staff under Napoleon. Early life Alexandre was born on 20 February 1753 at Versailles to Lieutenant-Colonel Jean Baptiste Berthier (1721 – 1804), an officer in the Corps of Topographical Engineers, and first wife (married in 1746) Marie Françoise L'Huillier de La Serre. He was the eldest of five children, with the three brothers also serving in the French Army, two becoming generals during the Napoleonic Wars. . Military career As a boy he was instructed in the military art by his father, an officer of the Corps de genie (Engineer Corps), and at the age of seventeen he entered the army, serving successively in the staff, the engineers and the prince de Lambesq's dragoons. In 1780 he went to North America with Rochambeau, and on his return, having attained the rank of colonel, he was employed in various staff posts and in a military mission to Prussia. During the Revolution, as Chief of Staff of the Versailles National Guard, he protected the sisters of Louis XVI from popular violence, and aided their escape (1791). In the war of 1792 he was at once made Chief of Staff to Marshal Lückner, and he bore a distinguished part in the Argonne campaign of Dumouriez and Kellermann. He served with great credit in the Vendéan War of 1793–1795, and was in the next year made a general of division and chief of staff (Major-Général) to the army of Italy, which Bonaparte had recently been appointed to command. He played an important role in the Battle of Rivoli, relieving Barthélemy Joubert when the latter was attacked by the Austrian general Jozsef Alvinczi. His power of work, accuracy and quick comprehension, combined with his long and varied experience and his complete mastery of detail, made him the ideal chief of staff to a great soldier; and in this capacity he was Napoleon's most valued assistant for the rest of his career. owed much to his considerable administrative and organizational skills.]] He accompanied Napoleon throughout the brilliant campaign of 1796, and was left in charge of the army after the Treaty of Campo Formio. He was in this post in 1798 when he entered Italy, invaded the Vatican, organized the Roman republic, and took the pope Pius VI as prisoner back to Valence (France) where, after a torturous journey under Berthier's supervision, the pope died, dealing a major blow to the Vatican's political power which, however did not prove as ephemeral as that of the First Empire. After this he joined his chief in Egypt, serving there until Napoleon's return. He assisted in the coup d'état of 18 Brumaire (9 November 1799), afterwards becoming Minister of War for a time. In the campaign of Marengo he was the nominal head of the Army of Reserve, but the first consul accompanied the army and Berthier acted in reality, as always, as Chief of Staff to Napoleon. Lest one think this was a relatively safe job, such as modern staff officers, a contemporary subordinate staff officer, Brossier, reports that at the Battle of Marengo: }} At the close of the campaign he was employed in civil and diplomatic business. This included a mission to Spain in August, 1800, which resulted in the retrocession of Louisiana to France by the Treaty of San Ildefonso, 1 October 1800, and led to the Louisiana Purchase. .]] When Napoleon became emperor, Berthier was at once made a marshal of the empire. He took part in the campaigns of Austerlitz, Jena and Friedland, and was created Duke of Valengin in 1806, Sovereign Prince of Neuchâtel in the same year and Vice-Constable of the Empire in 1807. In 1808 he served in the Peninsular War, and in 1809 he served in Austrian theatre during War of the Fifth Coalition, after which he was given the title of prince of Wagram. He was with Napoleon in Russia in 1812, Germany in 1813, and France in 1814, fulfilling, till the fall of the French Empire, the functions of "major-general" of the Grande Armée. Following Napoleon's first abdication, Berthier retired to his 600 acre (2.4 km²) estate, and resumed his hobbies of falconry and sculpture. He made peace with Louis XVIII in 1814, and accompanied the king on his solemn entry into Paris. During Napoleon's short exile on Elba, he informed Berthier of his projects. Berthier was much perplexed as to his future course and, being unwilling to commit to Napoleon, fell under the suspicion both of his old leader and of Louis XVIII. On Napoleon's return to France, Berthier withdrew to Bamberg, where he died a few weeks later on 1 June 1815 in a fall from an upstairs window. The manner of his death is uncertain; according to some accounts he was assassinated by members of a secret society, others say that, maddened by the sight of Prussian troops marching to invade France, he threw himself from his window and was killed. Character assessment Berthier was not a great field commander. When he was in temporary command in 1809, the French army in Bavaria underwent a series of reverses. His merit as a general was completely overshadowed by the genius of his emperor, he is nevertheless renowned for his excellent organising skills and being able to understand and carry out the emperor's directions to the minutest detail. Marriage and family On 9 March 1808 Berthier married Duchess Maria Elisabeth Franziska in Bavaria (Landshut, 5 May 1784 – Paris, 1 June 1849), only daughter of Duke Wilhelm in Bavaria and Countess Palatine Maria Anna of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld-Rappolstein, the sister of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria. They had one son and two daughters : *Napoléon-Alexandre, 2nd Duke (11 September 1810 – 10 February 1887) married on 29 June 1831 Zénaïde Françoise Clary (25 November 1812 – 27 avril 1884) and had issue, extinct in male line in 1918 *Caroline-Joséphine (22 August 1812 – 1905) married on 9 October 1832 Alphonse Napoléon, Baron d'Hautpoul (29 mai 1806 – 25 avril 1889) *Marie-Anne (19 February 1816 – 23 July 1878) married on 24 June 1834 Jules Lebrun, 3rd Duke of Plaisance (19 April 1811 – 15 January 1872) Notes References * ;Attribution Further reading *Bukhari, Emir Napoleon's Marshals Osprey Publishing, 1979, ISBN 0-85045-305-4. *Chandler, David Napoleon's Marshals Macmillan Pub Co, 1987, ISBN 0-02-905930-5. *Connelly, Owen, Blundering to Glory: Napoleon's Military Campaigns SR Books, 1999, ISBN 0-8420-2780-7. *Elting, John R. Swords around a Throne: Napoleon's Grande Armée Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1997, ISBN 0-02-909501-8. *Haythornthwaite, Philip Napoleon's Commanders (2): c.1809-15 Osprey Publishing, 2002, ISBN 1-84176-345-4. *Hittle, James Donald ‘‘the Military Staff: Its History and Development'' Military Service Publishing, 1952. *Macdonell, A. G. Napoleon and His Marshals Prion, 1997, ISBN 1-85375-222-3. *Pawly, Ronald Napoleon's Imperial Headquarters (1): Organization and Personnel Osprey Publishing, 2004, ISBN 1-84176-793-X. *Pawly, Ronald Napoleon's Imperial Headquarters (2): On campaign Osprey Publishing, 2004, ISBN 1-84176-794-8. *Watson, S.J. By Command of the Emperor: A Life of Marshal Berthier. Ken Trotman Ltd, ISBN 0-946879-46-X. External links * Alex. Berthier, Relation of the Battle of Marengo * Spencer Napoleonica Collection at Newberry Library Category:1753 births Category:1815 deaths Category:People from Versailles Category:Princes of Neuchâtel Category:Dukes of Valengin Dukes of Wagram Category:Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Category:Marshals of France Category:French military personnel of the American Revolutionary War Category:French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Category:French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Category:French sculptors Category:Members of the Sénat conservateur Category:Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Category:Commanders of the Order of Saint Louis Category:Recipients of the Order of St. Andrew Category:Deaths by defenestration Category:French invasion of Russia Category:Peers of France Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Category:Grand Crosses of the Military Order of Max Joseph